Spokesman:

Iran, China, Russia Stand against US Sanctions

TEHRAN (defapress)- Spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Behrouz Kamalvandi lambasted the US illegal sanctions against Tehran, stressing that Iran, China and Russia will never succumb to Washington pressures.

News ID: 73686

Date: 13 November 2018 - 15:32

"In our and the international community's view, the US sanctions are illegal and do not have international and legal basis," Kamalvandi said on Tuesday.

He referred to the sanction exemption declared by the US on three Iranian nuclear projects, including the Bushehr nuclear power plant, which Russia helped Iran build, the site of a former heavy water reactor at Arak, and an underground uranium enrichment plant at Fordow, and said China and Russia are helping Iran with these projects and they have "several times stated that they do not comply with the US sanctions and therefore, their exemption or non-exemption made no difference".

"Neither Iran, nor China or Russia will accept the US sanctions and pressures," Kamalvandi said.

The US Treasury Department announced all sanctions on Iran lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal would be back in force on November 5.

According to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, the sweeping sanctions will see 700 people blacklisted, including people who were granted relief under the 2015 deal, as well as over 300 new names.

The Trump administration earlier agreed to allow eight countries to continue purchasing Iran’s crude oil after Washington’s sanctions on Tehran took place.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said American officials had admitted their incapability to stop Iran's crude sales, and the US sanctions would only leave negative impacts on imports of foodstuff, medicine and medical equipment.

"What the Iranian officials said that the US is not able to zero Iran's oil exports was proved with the US recent admission," President Rouhani said after a trilateral meeting with the parliament speaker and judiciary chief in Tehran.

"The US announced that it cannot zero Iran's oil sales because the oil prices will rise to $150; this is what we had said (before). In this region, either Iran's oil is exported or others will be in trouble as well," he added.

President Rouhani referred to the US lies that the foodstuff, drugs and medical equipment were exempted from Washington's sanctions against Iran, and said, "This is incorrect. When the banking system is sanctioned, everything is affected."

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